Objects and stories

There is much more to our collection than what you will you find in our galleries and exhibitions.

In Objects and Stories, you can learn about the people, places and things represented in our collection, which documents 250 years of discoveries and innovations that began in Manchester and went on to influence the world.

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Our collection online

Explore over 250,000 objects and archives from the collection of the Science Museum Group.

Explore... The world's first industrial city

Manchester was the original 'shock city' of the Industrial Revolution. The early 19th century saw a huge building boom and a population explosion that changed life in the city with breath-taking speed.

'Hast thou heard, with sound ears, the awakening of a Manchester... the rushing-off of its thousand mills, like the boom of an Atlantic tide, ten thousand times ten-thousand spools and spindles all set humming there, - it is perhaps…sublime as a Niagara or more so'.

Explore... The connected city

Manchester is a global city. It has always been a place of international exchange, where people, goods and ideas come and go, enriching life and trade in the city and beyond.

'Never since the world began, was there a town like it, in its outward appearance, its wonderful activity, its mercantile and manufacturing prosperity, and its remarkable moral and political phenomena…'

Explore... The city of ideas

Following its post-industrial slump, Manchester has worked hard to regenerate its image and enterprise. 21st century Manchester is becoming a hub of high-tech businesses and a hive of creative industries.

'The word Manchester became a synonym for energy and freedom and the right to do and to think without shackles'.